Cultures of Devotion

Spanish America has produced numerous 'folk-saints' - venerated figures regarded as miraculous but not officially recognised by the Catholic Church. Some of these have huge national cults with hundreds - perhaps millions - of devotees. In this book Frank Graziano provides the first overview in any language of these saints, offering in-dpeth studies of the beliefs, rituals, and devotions surrounding seven representative figures. These case studies are illuminated by comparisons to some hundred additional saints from contemporary Spanish America. Graziano draws upon site visits and extensive interviews with devotees, archival material, media reports, and documentaries to produce vivid portraits of these fascinating popular movements. In the process he sheds new light on the often fraught relationship between orthodox Catholicism and folk beliefs and on an important and little-studied facet of the dynamic culture of contemporary Spanish America.